[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 2, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12166-12168]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-04265]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 210224-0029]
RIN 0648-BK22


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery off the Atlantic States; Amendment 12

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 12 to the 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery off the 
Atlantic States (Dolphin Wahoo FMP), as prepared and submitted by the 
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). This proposed rule 
would add bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel to the Dolphin Wahoo FMP 
and designate them as ecosystem component (EC) species. The purpose of 
this proposed rule and Amendment 12 is to acknowledge the ecological 
role of bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel as forage fish and to 
achieve the ecosystem management objectives in the Dolphin Wahoo FMP.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 1, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the proposed rule, identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2020-0146,'' by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2020-0146'', in the Search 
box. Click the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and 
enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Nikhil Mehta, Southeast 
Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be

[[Page 12167]]

considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address), confidential business information, 
or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender 
will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter 
``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
    Electronic copies of Amendment 12, which includes a fishery impact 
statement and a regulatory impact review, may be obtained from the 
Southeast Regional Office website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-12-add-bullet-mackerel-and-frigate-mackerel-ecosystem-component-species.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nikhil Mehta, telephone: 727-824-5305, 
or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The dolphin and wahoo fishery off the 
Atlantic states is managed under the FMP. The FMP was prepared by the 
Council and implemented through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under 
the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

Background

    The Council manages dolphin and wahoo under the Dolphin Wahoo FMP 
in Federal waters off the Atlantic states from Maine south to the 
Florida Keys in the Atlantic. In the western North Atlantic, bullet 
mackerel are found from Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico, and frigate 
mackerel are found mostly from North Carolina to Florida. As described 
in Amendment 12, both bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel are found in 
the diets of dolphin and wahoo in the North Atlantic. In particular, 
wahoo has been demonstrated to have a strong dietary reliance on bullet 
and frigate mackerel, indicating that these mackerel species are the 
most dominant forage species observed in the diets of wahoo. Dolphin 
tend to have more diverse diets than wahoo and have a lower reliance on 
these mackerel species as prey. Additionally, bullet and frigate 
mackerel have been identified as important forage species for other 
offshore pelagic predatory species in the Atlantic such as blue marlin 
and yellowfin tuna. Bullet mackerel feed on a variety of prey, 
especially clupeoids (i.e., herrings and sardines), crustaceans, and 
squids. Frigate mackerel feed on a variety of fish, squid, and small 
crustaceans. Therefore, given their presence as a common forage fish 
and prey food source, bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel are an 
important component of the marine environment in the Atlantic. There is 
no stock assessment for dolphin, wahoo, bullet mackerel, or frigate 
mackerel. In Atlantic Federal waters, dolphin and wahoo are targeted 
both commercially and recreationally. Annual reported commercial and 
recreational landings of bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel are low 
along the entire Atlantic coastline.
    Regulations implemented under the Magnuson-Stevens Act define EC 
species as ``stocks that a Council or the Secretary has determined do 
not require conservation and management, but desire to list in a FMP in 
order to achieve ecosystem management objectives'' (50 CFR 
600.305(d)(13)). National Standards (NS) General guidelines state that 
a Council should consider a non-exhaustive list of 10 factors when 
deciding whether additional stocks require Federal conservation and 
management (50 CFR 600.305(c)(1)). The proposed EC designation for 
bullet and frigate mackerel was recommended to the Council by the 
Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), their Dolphin 
Wahoo Advisory Panel (AP), and the Habitat Protection and Ecosystem-
Based Management (Habitat) AP, and received extensive positive comments 
from the public during scoping of Amendment 12. The Dolphin Wahoo AP 
and Habitat AP members acknowledged that wahoo, in particular, target 
these mackerel species as prey. The AP members also stated that the 
Council should consider a conservative approach to ensure there are no 
major increases in the harvest of bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel 
in the foreseeable future as a result of any EC designation. This 
designation would address the Council's growing emphasis on developing 
ecosystem management approaches to fisheries management and advancing 
ecosystem management objectives in the Dolphin Wahoo FMP.
    The extent to which the low landings of bullet mackerel and frigate 
mackerel occur within the dolphin and wahoo fishery is unknown; 
however, it is unlikely that these species are often harvested in 
conjunction with efforts to target dolphin and wahoo, especially in the 
commercial sector. Bullet and frigate mackerel have largely been landed 
commercially in the Mid-Atlantic region using gill net, pound net, 
float trap, and otter trawl gear, none of which are allowable gear 
types in the dolphin and wahoo fishery. Recreational landings of bullet 
and frigate mackerel have largely occurred in the South Atlantic 
Region, with some limited catches reported from the Mid-Atlantic 
Region. Furthermore, recreational fishermen have also noted that these 
species are used as bait for tuna and billfish, such as blue marlin. 
NMFS and the Council have determined that bullet mackerel and frigate 
mackerel are currently not in need of conservation and management, 
making them eligible for consideration as EC species. This preliminary 
eligibility determination was done after consideration of the 
provisions within the NS Guidelines and requirements of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. Furthermore, adding bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel 
to the Dolphin Wahoo FMP as EC species meets the FMP's ecosystem 
management objectives (50 CFR 600.305(c)(5) and 600.310(d)(1)).

Management Measures Contained in This Proposed Rule

    This proposed rule would add bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel 
to the Dolphin Wahoo FMP and designate them as EC species. This 
proposed rule would add no additional management measures to the 
Dolphin Wahoo FMP as a result of this EC species designation, either 
for bullet and frigate mackerel, or for dolphin and wahoo.
    The proposed rule could be expected to result in potential indirect 
benefits such as increased awareness among the fishermen, fishing 
communities, data collecting agencies, and regulatory entities managing 
dolphin, wahoo, bullet mackerel, and frigate mackerel. If landings for 
these two mackerel species were to greatly increase in the future to 
unsustainable levels, fisheries managers could be made aware of the 
changing stock status before the stocks are depleted, which may have 
subsequent beneficial effects on populations of several economically 
important predatory fish species, including dolphin, wahoo, blue 
marlin, and yellowfin tuna.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is 
consistent with Amendment 12, the Dolphin and Wahoo FMP, other 
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, 
subject to further consideration after public comment.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides the legal basis for this proposed 
rule. No duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting Federal rules have 
been identified. In

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addition, no new reporting and record-keeping requirements are 
introduced by this proposed rule. Accordingly, the Paperwork Reduction 
Act does not apply to this proposed rule. A description of this 
proposed rule, why it is being considered, and the purposes of this 
proposed rule are contained in the preamble and in the SUMMARY section 
of this proposed rule. The objective of this proposed rule is to 
acknowledge the ecological role of bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel 
as forage fish in general and specifically as prey for wahoo.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce has 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration that this rule, if adopted, will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. A 
description of the factual basis for this determination follows.
    This proposed rule, if implemented, would add bullet mackerel and 
frigate mackerel to the Dolphin and Wahoo FMP as EC species. Even 
though this proposed rule would alter the existing regulations to 
indicate that bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel are EC species in 
the Dolphin and Wahoo FMP, it would not implement any new management 
measures, and, therefore, is administrative in nature. As such, this 
proposed rule would not directly regulate any small entities.
    Because this proposed rule, if implemented, is not expected to 
directly regulate any small entities, it is not expected to affect a 
substantial number of small entities. Further, because no entities are 
expected to be affected by this proposed rule, the profits of small 
entities are also not expected to change, and thus no economic impacts 
on small entities are expected.
    Because this proposed rule, if implemented, would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities, 
an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not required and none has 
been prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

    Atlantic, Dolphin, Ecosystem species, Fisheries, Fishing, Wahoo.

    Dated: February 24, 2021.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 622, is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND SOUTH 
ATLANTIC

0
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

0
2. Add Table 6 to Appendix A to part 622 to read as follows:
* * * * *

Appendix A to Part 622--Species Tables

* * * * *

Table 6 of Appendix A to Part 622--Atlantic Dolphin and Wahoo

Dolphin, Coryphaena equiselis or Coryphaena hippurus
Wahoo, Acanthocybium solandri

    The following species are designated as ecosystem component 
species:

Bullet mackerel, Auxis rochei
Frigate mackerel, Auxis thazard

[FR Doc. 2021-04265 Filed 3-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P